1
as in ungrammatical
violating approved patterns of speaking and writing
most of the messages left on the Web site's bulletin board are illiterate
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ignorant
lacking in education or the knowledge gained from books
offered menus with pictures, presumably for the many illiterate people who must eat there
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in ignoramus
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illiterate
Sam Mednick, The Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2025
The crowds who first flocked to view the tapestry, back in the 11th century, would largely have been illiterate and narrative hangings of this nature, with a mix of picture and text inscriptions, were a way to tell stories that everyone could follow.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN, 20 Feb. 2025
To listen to him tell it, in English heavily accented by his native Romansh, this was a peaceful place for illiterate, yet skilled mountaineers and off-piste skiers who know far too much about avalanches.
—Jennifer Leigh Parker, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
But, oh my goodness, the label Aotearoa New Zealand taunts and provokes the insecure, the historically illiterate, the status-grabbing, the conceited, the dominating, and those for whom the myths and lies of the settler story are truth, are the one world worldview.
—Christine Winter, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illiterate
Adjective
People with phones don’t always have internet access, and many are illiterate.
—Sam Mednick, The Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2025
The crowds who first flocked to view the tapestry, back in the 11th century, would largely have been illiterate and narrative hangings of this nature, with a mix of picture and text inscriptions, were a way to tell stories that everyone could follow.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN, 20 Feb. 2025
To listen to him tell it, in English heavily accented by his native Romansh, this was a peaceful place for illiterate, yet skilled mountaineers and off-piste skiers who know far too much about avalanches.
—Jennifer Leigh Parker, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
But, oh my goodness, the label Aotearoa New Zealand taunts and provokes the insecure, the historically illiterate, the status-grabbing, the conceited, the dominating, and those for whom the myths and lies of the settler story are truth, are the one world worldview.
—Christine Winter, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illiterate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illiterate
Adjective
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And in general, the A.I. bots were useful for sharpening prose and cleaning up clunky, ungrammatical sentences.—
Brian X. Chen,
New York Times,
1 Feb. 2023
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That could be useful for conversations where telegraphic, ungrammatical messages would come off as impolite.—
Tom Simonite,
Wired,
18 Oct. 2020
Adjective
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Simone, still at the hospital, remains blissfully ignorant of Kiki’s vengeful turn.—
Caroline Framke,
Vulture,
23 May 2025
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Conservative media, once a proud home to voices like Charles Krauthammer, Jonah Goldberg, and Bill Kristol, now platforms ignorant Trump sycophants who have no use for conservative principles — or principles of any kind.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
22 May 2025
Noun
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And finally, there is Remy (Guillaume Cyr), a well-meaning security guard at the Quebec Maple Association who is a bit of an ignoramus.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
6 Dec. 2024
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And yet Danielle is currently playing The Traitors so poorly — making big, sloppy, conspicuous moves, alienating potential allies, and fancying herself an Oscar-winning actress while displaying community-center theatrics — that even scene-stealing ignoramus Tom Sandoval has taken notice.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2025
Noun
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After the know-nothing county board opts to raze the baseball diamond to make way for a school, the teams meet for one final game at their beloved Soldier’s Field, with girlfriends, kids, and local hooligans as intermittent spectators.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
7 Mar. 2025
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Even as Republicans embrace him as an iconoclast, Democrats and other critics have lambasted Kennedy as a know-nothing without the scientific or bureaucratic experience to do the job effectively.—
Dylan Scott,
Vox,
7 Dec. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Illiterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illiterate. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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